*HP EliteBook 2540p Owners Lounge*

[nando4]

Originally Posted by tifosi29

Hi Nando, I was wondering if you have managed to remove the whitelist for the 2540?
..
In an unrelated note, after 3 months of great (very minimal fan-on) usage...this last weekend my fan just started staying on ALL THE TIME.

TTAV134@mydigitallife is an expert at whitelist removal. Options are to wait for modders to come up with a solution OR pester HP to abolish this practice altogether. It's a nuisance.

With your fan, consider blowing the fan duct with a compressor to dislodge gunk. Ensure too there are no runaway processes running keeping your CPU at high load. Finally, consider pulling all power sources, press and hold the power button for 30secs, then reattach and test. Finally, it is possible the thermal pad HP used has decomposed giving a poor contact point so the CPU isn't dissipating heat. A new application of thermal compound would correct that.

[linhldz]

Hey guys I just purchased a 2540P and already planning to *downgrade* my X25M-80GB to a regular 2.5" 500GB HDD - don't start bashing me - the long awaited SSD will go to my gaming PC :-). Problem is I can't find any way to create recovery/restore disc for this little machine (and yes, I type all kind of keyword in windows search like the out-of-box-win7 guide stated). The question is how can I create those discs? Or do I need them? Can I use a backup program like Acronis TrueImage/Norton Ghost to transfer the operating system to new HDD? Thank you.

[autonemith]

I have tentativly switched to a 2540p from a 2510p. I like it so far, but the thing bugging me now is the fingerprint sensor. Windows 7 had native support for the Authentec reader in my 2510p, but this "Validity" sensor in the 2540p doesn't appear to be supported without some HP bloatware. Anyone have any luck with installing it without using HP Protect Tools(aka HP use-all-of-your-system-resources tools)?

[nando4]

Originally Posted by autonemith

I have tentativly switched to a 2540p from a 2510p. I like it so far, but the thing bugging me

Can you highlight the usability differences b/w a 2540P and 2510P that you've experienced? I've read the HP 2540p vs Lenovo X201s site which highlights that the 2540P is noisy, heavy and the keyboard is a step backwards from the 2510P/2530P. My 2510P + modded_bios is quiet and overclocked with a SSD hasn't underdelivered in anything I've thrown at it (ref: http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-b...ml#post4518853 ). I've eyed a 2540P from afar but not 100% sure. Maybe a 2530P or X201 would be a better upgrade?

[autonemith]

Originally Posted by linhldz

Can I use a backup program like Acronis TrueImage/Norton Ghost to transfer the operating system to new HDD? Thank you.

Yes, you can. Either one of those would work if you can get that software. Some SSD kits ship with Acronis and a USB caddy to make it easy. There are many forums and discussions regardig imaging of HD's, you could spend hours reading it all.

[autonemith]

Originally Posted by nando4

Can you highlight the usability differences b/w a 2540P and 2510P that you've experienced?

2540p has 3 usb ports, "metal" top instead of plastic, fancy keyboard light, integrated webcam(although the DIY from the 2510p owners lounge was interesting), no slow tiny hard drive or trying to make a PATA zif SSD work correctly. I don't notice a keyboard/touchpad difference, other than my mute indicator on the QLB's not working now. I also haven't noticed a difference in the fan. This not being able to use the fingerprint sensor is my main annoyance right now.

I haven't noticed a weight difference nor looked at the exact weight in the specs. The size seems the same. There is no microphone jack for folks who want a standard 3.5mm instead of a USB mike but doesn't bother me.

Edit: I brought both of them home tonight and have them set up side by side. The 2540 keboard is the same size, but has squarish keys instead of beveled(makes no difference to me) The touchpad on the 2540 is a separate piece instead of integrated to the cover like on the 2510 - I like the 2510 better. I like the touchpad buttons on the 2510 better too. No PCMCIA slot on the 2540 - i didn't use anyway. with the screen up, 2540 is 5mm taller than the 2510 - I guess just to accomodate the webcam, same width and thickness. The cover latch on the 2540 is a push button instead of a slider. I did like the slider better. Overall the 2510p just feels sleeker. I can't go back though because I don't want to deal with the PATA zif and I like the faster processor.

PS-sorry to be off topic but nando did you happen to see my question on the 2510 lounge here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-b...ml#post6923184

[autonemith]

2540p has a VFS451 fingerprint sensor. Everything I can find so far says there is no "Windows Biometric Framework" compliant driver for this device, thus forcing you to use the HP Protect Tools (I will NEVER do this).

[nando4]

Originally Posted by autonemith

Overall the 2510p just feels sleeker. I can't go back though because I don't want to deal with the PATA zif and I like the faster processor.

PS-sorry to be off topic but nando did you happen to see my question on the 2510 lounge here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-b...ml#post6923184

Thank you for the comparison. I've answered you question about the V3 ZIF SSD in the more appropriate http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-b...ml#post7020901 .

[chris32303]

I had a 2510P but the fan went out and fried the motherboard. Surprisingly HP replaced my laptop with a refurbished 2540P.

I was wondering if anyone that owns one of the 2540P machines has noticed that they keys on the keyboard on the left side are slightly raised? For example, if you were to sit the laptop down on a table and then look at the keyboard from eye level, I can see where the A,S,D,W,E,R keys look like they are sitting up higher than the other keys.

Will someone take a look at their keyboard and see if it is the same way as mine? If so, does anyone knows why HP designed it this way?

[autonemith]

Originally Posted by chris32303

Will someone take a look at their keyboard and see if it is the same way as mine? If so, does anyone knows why HP designed it this way?

Chris, mine are not raised. You could try taking the keyboard off to see if there is something not put together correctly under there. http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport...ctID=c02421772

Does the combination headphones/microphone jack on the right side work correctly for you? I tried plugging in a normal 3.5mm plug (from a 3.5mm to RCA cord), the same one I use for plugging MP3 player to stereo, and it didn't work.

Update: It was a driver problem for my 3.5mm jack! Surprised me. I thought there was no way that was soft-controlled, figured it had to be a hardware issue. Updated the driver and its all good now.